Students in Nicole Ziegler’s 8th-grade science class at Woodworth Middle School respond to questions on the first day of the school, Tuesday, Sept. 8.

DEARBORN — Balloons, banners and beaming teachers and administrators welcomed students as they walked into McCollough/Unis Elementary School Tuesday morning.

It was the first day of school in the Dearborn School District and many teachers were intent on starting the year with passion. 

“They enjoy that because they see the excitement come out of us,” Heyam Alcodray, principal of McCollough/Unis Elementary School said of the students.

Kindergarteners at McCollough/Unis Elementary eased into their early morning, school year routine with a “soft start” schedule. Following the schedule, which was observed about six years ago but reintroduced this year, students attended school for only a few hours each day during the first week. 

“Oftentimes it’s very emotional for the children at that age, so this just allows them to ease into it,” said superintendent Glenn Maleyko.

Other students in the district had a half day on Tuesday and followed a regular schedule the rest of the week. 

This is the first year the district will be under Maleyko’s leadership, and he is implementing several structural changes. Chief among them is increasing the collaboration between elementary, middle and high schools to ensure that students transition smoothly and have more support. 

Social media will play a larger role in delivering information across the district this year, as will blogs. Maleyko said consistent district-wide blogging was one non-negotiable development.

“We really need to do this because it’s 2015 — social media is part of our every day,” Maleyko said. “We have our children that are on it, so why not use it to our advantage?”

Nicole Rabac-Esseily, a seventh grade math intervention teacher at Woodworth Middle School, plans to bring interactivity into the classroom by infusing math lessons with real-world experience. 

Ali Srour, an eighth grader at Woodworth Middle School, is looking forward to classes with new teachers and new material, though he said the first days of the school year can be nerve wracking because he doesn’t yet know what to expect. 

The beginning of the school the year is an important time to get to know students and their needs, according to Rabac-Esseily.

“This is the exciting part of helping them to just set goals and then watching them throughout the year to progress,” she said. “So it’s always a bright start.”